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Category Archives: Lift

I wrote last week about moving — and playing — more. One way I would like to do more of that is by making more time to be upside down. Handstands are fun and it’s never too late to get better at them. When I was going to the yoga studio, one of my instructors helped me incorporate a bit of handstand play in Ashtanga class. I’ve been wanting to revive my handstand adventures, and there is no time like the present to dig in and start working on playing with them again!

Luckily, there are a lot of great posts and resources available online for mastering handstands and other inversions. Here are a few that I will be referring to in the coming months:

The Beginner’s Guide to Handstands. Not only does Nerd Fitness’s guide have Star Wars figures (of course; yay nerds!), it also addresses the fear factor. Many of us grown-ups are out of the habit of spending time upside down, and it can be disconcerting!

The Adult Handstand.Garage Gym Girl focuses on a couple of other things that might trip us non-kiddos up: wrist weakness and dizziness. The post helps with those elements and helps break down the handstand mastery process over time.

I took a walk outside today with two of my co-workers. We weren’t out for long, but it felt great to take a 20- or 30-minute cruise through the neighborhood adjacent to the office during our lunch hour. It reminded me that I haven’t done it in a while, and also that it’s better than caffeine as an antidote to afternoon sluggishness.

While it’s certainly not a mind-blowing revelation that many of us could stand to move more, it’s still something I need to remind myself from time to time. My husband and I got new Fitbit Surge activity monitors last month. I had a Fitbit Ultra but lost it over a year ago, and I was on the fence about whether to get a new one. I don’t like to be beholden to a device, and I have certainly fallen prey to the admittedly strange thought pattern about “uncredited” steps taken when I forgot to wear my Fitbit… despite the fact that my body obviously “counted” them!

Seeing friends’ step counts, or even participating in challenges with them, can be fun, as long as they aren’t taken too seriously. The comparison trap is always a risk, and I generally try to encourage myself (and others) to compete and compare less, not more. Still, I’m happy I have a Fitbit again. I’m even doing a “weekday hustle” challenge with my aforementioned co-workers, and so far it’s not driving me into a frenzy of competitiveness.

It turns out that I simply like to be able to track how much (or little) I’m moving during the day. My new Fitbit has reminded me what I knew all too well when I had my previous one: If I don’t deliberately incorporate extra steps and walks into my life, my general activity levels are pretty low. I work a desk job, and while I try to get up and walk around the office, it doesn’t always amount to much. I also have a standing desk for certain tasks, but I sometimes forget to use it.

Use it or lose it. We’ve all heard that old adage. While it may not apply to my standing desk (it’s still there in my office), it’s pretty spot-on when it comes to our bodies. I happen to think staying active — in smart, healthy ways — is akin to a fountain of youth. For me, it’s important to weight train and do mobility exercises to preserve and even build strength and flexibility. I’ve seen enough proof that it’s possible, not just at 47 but well beyond, to improve ourselves, inside and out.

Beyond weight lifting, yoga, and other designated strength/mobility training, I know it’s a good idea to just plain move around more. Increasing my step count and upping my general activity will help me burn more calories and get my waistline back in check. I also find that it can boost energy, alertness, and creativity. I’m sure walking with my husband, friends, family, and co-workers could improve my relationships, as well. Dare I say that taking a walk is just as good as going out to eat when it comes to catching up and sharing some laughs?

Winter is on the way, and I’m not a big fan of being cold. But with the right shoes and outerwear, it’s possible to walk safely outside for most of the year. And there’s always the mall, which does the trick in a pinch!

I’ve recently been reading about Original Strength (OS) and similar programs, which teach about “resetting” our bodies and restoring some of our inherent, but neglected, movement patterns. Things like crawling, rolling, squatting, and, yes, walking. These are simple, free activities that we have known how to do for quite a while… though, in fact, some of us probably stopped most of them a long time ago. Even walking, which is hard to avoid entirely, seems to decline more with every passing year thanks to technology and suburban sprawl.

When was the last time you got on the floor and just played around? It’s worth making time for. Rolling on the ground feels like a massage. Squatting is great for increasing range of motion and getting out of overused chair- or couch-shaped postures. Crawling helps with balance, strength, and may even enhance brain function. Plus it’s honestly just fun to be down there. It is reminiscent of simpler days, and it gives a different perspective of the world (and perhaps the dust bunnies under the couch). If you have pets, they might find it strange at first, but soon they’ll join in and play right along with you!

As I mentioned, plain ol’ walking is another reset, according to OS. Whether or not you subscribe to their terminology, it’s evident that walking works heart, lungs, and muscles. Most medical and fitness experts agree that it’s extraordinarily good for the brain and the body alike. Sadly, I think many of us take it for granted. Unfortunately, if we avoid it at all costs, we may find ourselves missing it some day, perhaps far sooner than we’d expect.

Don’t wait until it’s too late. Crawl, stretch, dance, roll, skip — and walk more than the bare minimum — as often as you can. Moving regularly is one of the best ways to ensure that we can continue to do so in the days and years to come. Most importantly, it’s a fantastic way to spend time now… and now is where our lives transpire. Show your body some loving kindness, today and every day. You deserve it!

If someone were to ask me today why I exercise — why I lift weights, practice yoga, walk, all that fun stuff — I’d answer: Life.

I know that’s not exactly original, but it’s oh-so-true. I’ve finally figured out that moving makes me feel better, more capable, more energetic, and happier. Sure, I’ve understood this intellectually for quite a long time. But only in the last few years has it truly sunk in. Now I know it, not just in my head but in my guts and my limbs (muscles, bones, joints and all).

That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with training for some other reason or reasons: a race, a sport, or even the desire to change one’s body comp and physique. I’ve trained to get myself ready for an event, and a similar pursuit could happen again at some point in my future. What’s more, I’d be lying if I claimed it wouldn’t please me to see a bit more muscle definition here, a little less muscle camouflage there.

The difference now is that I see all of those potential benefits as the cherry on top. The sundae is how I feel every day, inside and out. Knowing this, I more often choose to make time for play. Come to think of it, that last sentence nicely sums up how I’m starting to think about exercise:

it’s a choice, not an obligatory task I must suffer through to achieve X or Y result;

I deserve time to play, and it’s up to me to ensure that I take it, rather than waiting for it to magically appear in my schedule; and

as children know and adults too easily forget, it can bring real joy and fulfillment.

It’s no wonder that I’m now less attached to the outcomes than to the experience of moving and trying new things.

In fact, the real result lies in the habit itself. In the process, not the outcome. That’s why it’s key to find activities that are fun for us, as I hinted at earlier. It’s not meant to be a grind, so why would we ever cultivate a habit of something we dread doing?

There are so many options that something is bound to resonate. I’ve also learned that it pays to try things again, things I didn’t think I was suited for (or vice versa). I’ve changed a lot over the course of my life, so it stands to reason that my taste in activities would evolve, too. My food preferences and choices certainly have expanded and shifted quite significantly over the years.

Not only does this new perspective make me feel pretty great, I’m also starting to see the potential applications in other pursuits. If I can fall in love with the process of meditation, novel writing, and other things that matter to me — and begin to detach from the desired outcomes — well, that would seriously rock. Again, these aren’t entirely foreign concepts to me, but sometimes a new light hits an old idea and suddenly, voilà, it’s time to shine.

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To get results in any area, it pays to be consistent. Practicing guitar once every few months won’t turn me into a guitar player, as much as I’d like it to. Churning out a 50,000-word chunk of novel (with a substantial percentage of gibberish*) every November for National Novel Writing Month, then abandoning those words for the next 11 months, will never help me finish writing a book.

Similarly, training without consistency rarely leads to progress. Lifting weights, practicing yoga, working on handstands, you name it – we can’t make strides if we don’t regularly make time for our activity (or activities) of choice.

I’m happy to note that I’m in week 3 of my current weight training program and I’ve done every session I scheduled. Three times a week, I’ve planned, lifted, and logged my weights, reps, and sets. After months of rest that veered precariously close to inertia, it feels really good to be in the groove of moving more each day.

But that’s not quite right. I want to stop putting it that way, because doing so implies I can just as easily fall out of said groove. I’d rather cultivate an activity habit that’s as automatic as turning right when I exit my townhouse, because that’s where I’ll find my parking spot.

I don’t have to get motivated to turn right. It just happens, because I’ve created a habit. In the parlance of authors who write about the “habit loop” of cue-routine-reward: the cue is leaving my house, the routine is turning right, and the reward is getting to go somewhere in my car.

This particular habit may seem oversimplified; why would I do anything but go right if that’s where I’ll find my car? But, in essence, our entire waking life is comprised of a thousand and one habits like these. In The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg writes extensively and eloquently about the habit loop and how it can be a far more effective tool than those old standbys, motivation and willpower.

More than once, I’ve read another good analogy to explain this dichotomy: we don’t typically need to call on motivation or willpower to go to work each day. For most of us, going to work when we’re expected to be there is a fundamental habit. Brushing our teeth and showering are a couple more oft-cited, habitual acts or tasks. There’s not much motivation involved; we do many such things almost entirely without thinking.

It’s smart to cultivate habits for the things we’d like to do consistently because motivation is an emotion. Just like joy or frustration or white-hot anger, it comes and goes (in the case of that anger, let’s hope it does a lot more going). So when we plan to rely on it for sticking to our workout (or healthy eating, or writing, or guitar practicing) schedule, we might as well tell ourselves that we’re not really too concerned about consistency.

Alternatively, when we develop (or change) a habit – to lift, stretch, write, strum – then we don’t need to muster that elusive feeling of motivation. The action is as automatic as putting the key in the ignition before we try to drive our car.

One thing I’m learning as I apply all of this habit-loop intel is that I can’t get too hung up on instant gratification. Creating a regular practice of almost any kind will yield results over time but, in most cases, not immediately. That’s one of the reasons we need consistency to begin with. Two lifting sessions won’t give me the muscles I want; two guitar classes won’t earn me a respectable open mic showing, much less a regular gig.

With that in mind, I remind myself to appreciate the process. Every step along the way is valuable. If I’m not able to find joy in the act of practicing – in each kettlebell swing, chord, or sentence – then why am I even doing it?

My life, and my capacity for satisfaction, is not on hold until I achieve X or Y outcome. It’s there in every moment. So for me it’s important that those moments contain experiences that I enjoy on their own merits, not solely as means to various ends.

Once we embrace the fact that practice can be so fulfilling in and of itself, it’s even easier to get on the habit train and cultivate consistency. It’s there that we’ll spend our time and create our life’s work, in every sense of the term.

So more and more lately, I turn right when I leave my bedroom in the morning, because that’s the way to my workout space. Cue: tumble out of bed. Routine: move my bod. Reward: getting stronger in more ways than one.

*And a higher percentage of decent prose, perhaps even incorporating a few hidden gems… or so I’d like to think.

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Cool as it would be, I’m not auditioning for the never-ending (and addictive) dance movie series. Of course, I’d love to move as deftly as the talented people who grace my TV screen every Wednesday night (I’m so happy it’s summerSo You Think You Can Dance season!). I don’t anticipate cultivating quite that level of skill at this point in my life, but I can let them inspire me.

So You Think You Can Dance Season 11 runner-up Jasmine Harper and All-Star Neil Haskell (photo courtesy of Small Screen Scoop).

I know that it’s possible to improve my mobility, strength, agility, and endurance. Most of us can, to some degree, and at any stage of the game. Knowing where I want to go is a good idea, as is imagining what’s feasible. I may never be able to do everything those SYTYCD youngsters do. And yet, by letting go of preconceived limitations and longstanding insecurities, I could achieve more than I might initially let myself consider.

By opening my mind and developing a plan, I can chart a different path than the “inevitable” decline of physical health and capabilities that so many people think is their fate.

Do you even lift?

Until my mid-30s, the answer to this question – ubiquitous in today’s fitness industry – was a definitive “no.” I was diagnosed with asthma at age 6 and what I most loved to do in the world was to read; for these and various other reasons, I was a pretty inactive child and teenager. I dabbled with exercise in my 20s, mostly via cardio DVDs, but nothing really stuck. I lived almost exclusively in my head, paying attention to my body only when it ailed me or when I noticed my clothes getting a bit snug.

I first lifted weights in 2001 after someone told me about Body for Life. I didn’t achieve any prizewinning results (no matter, since I never officially entered any contests), but I learned that I enjoy strength training. After a few more on-and-off years, I developed a fairly regular exercise habit about a decade ago as I approached my 36th birthday.

Since then, I built a small (and growing) home gym, discovered yoga, and did something I wouldn’t have thought possible even a few years before: Warrior Dash. (Twice. No, I didn’t develop a lifelong love of mud runs. I was just so astonished and proud of myself for completing every obstacle that I rode the post-event high right over to the following year’s registration page.)

Meanwhile, I read as much as I could about training, health, nutrition, and mindset. As I built my knowledge base, I met dozens of smart, accessible fitness professionals online and eventually traveled to meet some of them in person at the 2014 Fitness Summit in Kansas City.

That experience left me more excited than ever: to get stronger, learn more, and share as generously as the trainers and coaches I’m so lucky to know.

Reality check

It’s been almost a year since I’ve trained in any consistent, progressive way. I had good cause to take a break: a da Vinci® hysterectomy in September 2013. Surgery required healing and patience, and I did my best to get the rest I needed while moving around as much as possible to prevent atrophy and complications.

As my recovery progressed, I gradually reintroduced more activity. Meanwhile, fatigue evaporated more slowly than expected. Plus it was sometimes tough to figure out the right training prescription across the spectrum of variables: frequency, duration, and intensity. I knew (and my doctor gently reminded me) that I couldn’t just dive back into what I was doing beforehand, but beyond that, I was at a loss.

I played with a few programs, but they were either too easy or, more often, too overzealous. By turns uninspired and overwhelmed, my consistency suffered. I could hardly manage to string together three strength sessions in a given week, much less gain momentum across a series of weeks or months. Some minor but aggravating health issues (residual effects of my surgery, perhaps) have kept me from feeling my best; my energy still hasn’t quite returned to pre-op levels.

In order to make strides – to maximize my energy and get stronger and healthier inside and out, perhaps more so than ever – I need to train with consistency and progression. I’m ready to put everything I know, and every resource I can find, to use.

Plan of action

I have a tendency, in many areas of my life, to get mired in thinking, dreaming, planning: the dreaded “paralysis by analysis.” It’s finally sinking in that I won’t get anywhere if I never get out of my head.

It’s time for action. Without it, even the best plan is not just unrealized, it’s untested. In the spirit of accepting life’s messiness and its penchant for evolving, I’m breaking up with perfectionism, that age-old impediment to progress. I know I’ll face obstacles, tweaks, and reassessments along the way. It’s only natural. I’m just happy to be stepping up and giving myself the chance to do so.

A week into my new program, it’s a rather nice fit so far. After three strength sessions, I feel good, neither restless nor exhausted. I’m getting stronger and building a solid foundation for continued growth – of body, mind, and vocation.

I can’t wait to see what lies ahead.

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About me

"It's never too late to be what you might have been." ~ George Eliot
Thanks for visiting my little corner blog. I'm a firm believer in the spirit of Eliot's quote (even if she didn't really say/write it). Some things probably are out of my reach, thanks to my age/genetics -- Olympic gymnast or NFL player, for example. But it's never too late to try new things, to get stronger (inside and out)... in short, to change your life.

I like to read and write about cultivating an effective mindset, getting stronger, being present, and practicing loving kindness (toward ourselves and others).

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